The Infinite

"The Infinite is another dimension, of pure, untainted power – a bottomless well of Infinite energy."

- Matt to Rhys

The Infinite is a dimension of boundless energy, specifically Infinite energy, which binds all dimensions together through the energy's unique properties to bend and break physics. It is used to shape those dimensions appropriately, stabilise them, and cleanse them of Calm energy, its antithesis.

Infinite energy has numerous uses and possibilities depending on who is using it, how, where and in what way it is distributed. Without the Infinite, the so-called "multiversal bubble" would collapse, although the Infinite itself would also collapse if the dimensions it interacts with are contaminated with Dark energy, or are entirely removed. However, prolonged exposure to the Infinite will cause the dimension to be torn apart due to its properties of binding together other dimensions.

The Infinite was first introduced at the conclusion of Someone Else, and is often portrayed as an endless void of purple energy, in the case of the Vault of the Dreamer, or gold, in the case of other echelons, but can also mimic Midgard-like settings and locations from places such as Pandora.

Connection to the Eridians
Thousands of years prior to the events of Borderlands, the Eridians became aware of a dimension that seemed to border Midgard, causing slight bleeding and resulting in the phenomenon known as dark flow. This was due to encountering the Dreamer and experimenting on it (with word of consent) until the creature went rogue and attempted to destroy them. The creature was defeated, its remains stored in suspended animation, until they observed a strange energy signature coming from its fragments.

After further study, they realised they could harness it, using it to power their weaponry and technology, thus advancing their development by potentially hundreds of thousands of years. Through this, they managed to solidify and harden the plasmic shell of Infinite energy and create more material forms of it, which eventually became known as Eridium, which could be used much like batteries.

Following a cataclysmic run-in with the Destroyer, the Eridians used the Infinite, and all their knowledge of its uses, to create the Vault to trap the world-eater inside the Infinite itself, and then seal off its connection forever. This succeeded and the Eridians began to construct more Vaults, but over time they began to realise that they once might need some of the things stored them in case the race were in extreme danger. So, they created a Vault Key, using exotic matter pertaining to the Infinite to establish a link between the two dimensions, and created the interfaces which the Vault of the Destroyer and Vault of the Warrior possessed.

Other Vaults emerged with different and more complex rules to open them, designed by the Eridians as a maximum security for prisoners they deemed unusable, such as the rogue Dreamer. The Vault of the Destroyer was almost provided this treatment, until the Eridians devised a resort plan using the Destroyer's eye as a weapon. The Vault of the Warrior was also similar in this sense.

The Vault of the Dreamer was created when the Eridians realised that the Dreamer was reabsorbing Infinite energy and would come back to life, so they chained it within the Infinite and, through unknown means, caused the Vault to appear every few hundred years in Midgard to seal off the creature's connection to the Infinite enough to prevent reanimation.

Raid boss posts were also created using Infinite energy, for creatures deemed not dangerous enough to warrant a Vault and were designed so they could be reanimated to serve the Eridians. Once the Eridians disappeared, however, this conditioning collapsed and Raid bosses would merely attack all foes dissimilar to it.

Prophesying a great war that would lead to their extinction, the Eridians abandoned their material bodies and elevated to forms of pure consciousness within the Infinite, but not before leaving behind Guardians powered with Infinite energy to guard their Vaults.

Connection to Sirens
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Sirens are given their powers by the Infinite. They exist as the means of balancing the equation between the Infinite and Midgard (the Earth dimension), as when the Eridians left Midgard, they left traces of Infinite energy behind that would have damaged the dimension if not dealt with. To combat this, they created Sirens, forming six as six was the exact amount required to soak up the excess Infinite energy and thus maintain the dimension.

Most Sirens are able to power themselves up using Eridium, and as a result can be used by Infinite energy conductors and Infinite-compatible technology, such as Vault Keys.

The Infinite grants Sirens their powers through the myriad of ways it can be used:
 * Lilith enters a half-realm between Midgard and the Infinite when she enters her Phasewalk, allowing her teleport by moving through space-time.
 * Maya's Phaselock bubble is comprised of Infinite energy, specifically the indigo end of the spectrum, which can be used as a stasis field due to its energy vacuum properties.
 * Matt draws from the Infinite to control time in his Chronokinesis, and releases it in other forms to maintain control over the timestream.

Domains
The Infinite exists on three different "levels", where the majority of certain types of Infinite energy collect.

Echelon High is present at the very centre of the multiversal bubble and where the centre of the most powerful forms of Infinite energy lie, and where the Eridians collect and deliberate. This was where the Enlightener and his Seventh Conglomerate would govern the Infinite and other dimensions such as Midgard.

Echelon Intermediary is wedged in between dimensions and is located between High and Low. Much of the properties of Infinite energy that shapes dimensions comes from the type that is stored in majority in the Intermediary. Other levels of the Infinite do not exhibit as high of an effect, although High allows access to all dimensions, whilst Intermediary only allows the two dimensions it is wedged between.

Echelon Low is at the far end of the sprawl that the Infinite covers, bordering the Calm with a vacuum lying between them to prevent interaction. It also exists near the Silence and Dark energy, providing an access route between them for those apt enough with use of Infinite energy.

Timestream
Time is artificial in the Infinite, manufactured using currents of red Infinite energy. The rate at which time passes can be altered, however it is set currently to be one hundred times faster than time on Midgard, using a reverse form of time dilation. This means that one hour in Midgard is about four days for somene living in the Infinite.

As a result, Matt Rye and his sister spent four hundred years in the Infinite, whereas only four years passed in Midgard. This allows the Enlightener to spend more time deliberating his plans for the Infinite, although he can set time to different flows on a whim, and also meant he could spent centuries training Matt for the Great Monsoon through various simulations, thereby giving him an edge in the oncoming battle.

Those with material bodies do not age in the Infinite, as they are maintained by the flows of Infinite energy around them. Matt was once described it as his entire body having "essentially slowed in time" the moment he entered the Infinite, hinting that perhaps his body did age slightly, probably in tandem with Midgard. His body accelerated five years ahead once he exited the Infinite, or at the very least to the physical age he would have had if he had not entered the Infinite, although this change was mostly unnoticeable.

Infinity Spectrum
The Infinite does not exist as one singular energy, but rather different forms, which operate harmoniously within their home dimension, but act with volatility to non-Infinite surroundings and can conflict with each other. Named the Infinity Spectrum, it follows similar colours to that of the visible light spectrum.

As such, Infinite energy is affected by redshift, as well as blue shift, meaning their wavelengths can be extended or shortened artficially. Matt used the redshift phenomenon to lengthen the wavelength of red Infinite energy (which curiously has the shortest wavelength, rather than the longest) to turn it into gold Infinite energy instead, which could be used to cancel out invisible energy. In order to do this, he accelerated the speed of the lightning, with the help of an Eridian relic, and reverberated it across the whole of the Eridian Tomb on Sub-Level Fifteen of the Citadel.

* The wavelengths of black and invisible energy, and therefore where exactly they lie on the Infinity Spectrum is unknown, although invisible energy is known to be the opposite of gold energy.